Biography: Daniel Dodgen, Ph.D.,

DirectorDivision of At-Risk, Behavioral Health and Community ResilienceOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and ResponseU.S. Department of Health and Human Services

​Daniel Dodgen, Ph.D., directs the ASPR Division for At-Risk Individuals, Behavioral Health, and Community Resilience. His office leads community resilience, coordinates behavioral health aspects of the federal response, and ensures that vulnerable, or “at risk,” individuals (including children, seniors, pregnant women, language minorities, and people with disabilities) are integrated into federal preparedness, response and recovery activities.

His prior position was the first Emergency Management Coordinator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, where he addressed mental health, substance abuse, and other psychosocial issues on Department-wide initiatives related to disaster and terrorism response, and coordinated the federal mental health response during Hurricane Katrina. At the invitation of the U.S. Department of State, Dr. Dodgen served as an advisor to the government of Greece and the State Department on preparedness for the 2004 summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Dr. Dodgen is one of the lead authors for the Interagency Special Report on the Impacts of Climate Change on Human Health currently being prepared for President Obama. He has authored many articles and book chapters, presented at national and international conferences, and served on several editorial boards.

Prior to federal government service, Dr. Dodgen served as Senior Federal Affairs Officer at the American Psychological Association, and was a Congressional Fellow with the U.S. House of Representatives. Before coming to Washington, D.C., Dr. Dodgen practiced at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center in Los Angeles, where he coordinated community outreach activities and devoted his clinical work to trauma in adolescents and children.

Dr. Dodgen is a trained American Red Cross disaster mental health worker, and was part of the response to the Los Angeles riots, the Northridge earthquake, the Oklahoma City bombings, and the September 11 Pentagon attack. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the District of Columbia.